The Hut of Courage
by rhead-a-holyc
Summary: Before Hogwarts, Ron had only known Hagrid from Fred and George's tales of running away from him. The reality wasn't quite the same.


**Quidditch League: Caerphilly Catapults [Beater 2] Write about Ron's relationship with a member of the Order of the Phoenix**

 **Prompts:**

 **(setting) Hagrid's hut**

 **(quote) Political correctness is about denial – George MacDonald Fraser**

...oOo...

Fred and George had told him stories of the half-giant that lived on the edge of the Forbidden Forest and constantly chased them away from the boundary. Ron had always been captivated by the twins' tales of running for their lives and sneaking into darkened corners to not get caught.

All the stories ended with a 'You'll meet him as you get off the Hogwarts Express' that sounded entirely ominous and had Ron quivering in fear for his first night at Hogwarts. The twins also insisted that they had been forced to fight a troll by the wild half-giant in order to reach Hogwarts castle.

Ron had always ignored the snickers that came from Bill and Charlie – they had both been first years _ages_ ago, and there was no way for them to know what happened in Fred and George's year. He also ignored Percy's eyeroll, because Percy was a right prat and Ron rarely listened to him anyway.

...oOo...

Ron only remembered Fred and George's tales long after he was seated on one of Hagrid's large chairs in his hut, and attempting not to break his teeth on one of Hagrid's rock cakes. Harry looked comfortable, but Ron couldn't help but tense.

Even if he knew Hagrid wouldn't hurt a fly if he could avoid it – they were probably only trying to survive in his books. He had realised that Fred and George had been lying, but that hadn't stopped the terrifying thoughts from crossing his mind before he fell asleep. He could be like one of those werewolves, who didn't know what they were doing during a certain time of the month.

"Ron's awfully quiet compared to his brothers. If it were the twins, half me hut would already be gone."

"You have been rather quiet, Ron. Is everything okay? I know I dragged you along, but I wouldn't have minded if you had something else to do."

"I'm just... thinking. Hogwarts is not exactly what I expected."

Ron's legs trembled, and his instinct had him wanting to sprint back to the Gryffindor dormitory and act like he had mountains of homework - even if it was only the first week.

Harry and Hagrid accept Ron's reply.

Ron was only able to fully allow himself to relax when they were heading back to the castle.

...oOo...

Wandering into the Forbidden Forest for detention with Hagrid and Hermione was something that Ron was sure had come straight out of one of his nightmares. He couldn't help the glances he sent in Hagrid's direction, waiting for him to do _something_ that would terrify him in the way Fred and George had described.

The crossbow Hagrid gripped in his large hands didn't help matters either.

They wandered thought the eerie forest for what seemed like hours. Ron wasn't even sure what they were looking for, only that Hagrid's concentration seemed to be split between the mossy floor of the forest and their surroundings.

Every snap of a twig and rustle of leaves gave Ron a near heart attack, and he realised that maybe Hagrid kept people out of the Forbidden Forest for their own good. The Forbidden Forest was scarier than any of the stories Fred and George had told him, and everything Ron saw was without exaggeration – mostly, because he thought his mind added an extra movement out the corner of his eye every so often.

That was probably why Ron saw Hagrid's reaction to Harry's red sparks as closely as he had. He watched as the surprise turned into worry, then guilt. He watched as Hagrid's strides lengthened, even as he frequently turned to ensure he and Hermione were still following him. His lantern swung furiously as he moved, and Ron could nearly taste the worry that eminated off the half-giant.

Ron watched as Hagrid charged into the clearing Malfoy had been running from – the coward had abandoned Harry to face whatever had terrified him _alone_. Even Fang had been terrified enough to bolt towards Hagrid before they had even broken through the trees.

It finally became clear to Ron that Hagrid was the protector and not the danger.

...oOo...

Visiting Hagrid's hut became a regular occurrence after that, with Ron relaxing enough to even learn the Banishing Charm from Hermione so they didn't have to hide Hagrid's rock cakes.

They discussed everything with Hagrid, especially after they figured out that Hagrid was terrible at keeping secrets and often unwittingly gave them information.

The relaxed and warm atmosphere that Hagrid created was nothing like the atmosphere in the castle where Snape and his Slytherins were lurking in corners waiting to jinx unsuspecting students and call Hermione foul names.

Not to mention the view of the Forbidden Forest from the window of Hagrid's hut was a constant reminder that Ron absolutely did not want to return to the blasted place ever again.

Ron didn't think Hagrid would be too happy with them if they did, and that was only more motivation to stay away.

Ron had heard rumours of there being giant _spiders_ in the Forbidden Forest, and found himself ridiculously glad they hadn't run into those.

He probably wouldn't have survived had they actually ran into any spiders. He might have woken up the entire of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.

...oOo...

"Ron weren't scared of me? Were he?" Hagrid asked, looking concerned. Ron looked away and caught the silent shaking of Hermione's shoulders. He scowled at the floor instead. He could hear some of Harry's snickers.

"Political correctness is about denial. Isn't that right, Hermione?" Ron said finally, hoping to get the topic off his childhood fear of Hagrid. He scrambled for any other topic of conversation.

It was as if Fred and George were waiting for that exact response.

"Downright terrified of you, he was," Fred said.

"Didn't want to even come to Hogwarts," George added.

"All we did was tell him how you chase us out of the Forbidden Forest."

"It was only meant to be a warning."

"Promise."

"They made it sound like they were running for their lives," Ron muttered. "Even Ginny believed them until I told her otherwise."

Hagrid's concern melted into laughter. "Despite that, you came to me hut a lot in yer Firs' Year! Real Gryffindor bravery that!"

"Didn't really think about it at the time. I just followed Harry."

"Still. Yer didn't jus' run back to the castle when yer realised."

Ron ignored the fact that he almost did.


End file.
